50 Of The Most Famous Historic Houses In America

Take a virtual road trip around the country through the lens of America's most historic and storied homes.

By
Elizabeth Finkelstein

Mar 21, 2016

Take a virtual road trip around the country through the lens of America's most historic and storied homes. From Gilded Age mansions to humble farmsteads, here are our picks for the most beloved historic homes in each of the nation's 50 states.

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Alabama: Gaineswood

It's almost impossible to believe that the crown jewel of Demopolis began as a modest dogtrot cabin; in the years between 1843 and 1861, owner and amateur architect General Nathan Bryan Whitfield expanded and refined the building into what it is today—one of Alabama's most spectacular Greek Revival homes.

Though Imperial Russia played an enormous role in the development of Alaska, few examples of its colonial architecture survive in the state. However, the Russian Bishop's House, completed in 1842, is a rare throwback to when Sitka was known as New Archangel and served as the Russian colonial capital.

In 1929, Chewing Gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. began building his eclectic, Spanish colonial-style mansion high on a knoll overlooking Phoenix. He died shortly after its completion, but today, aptly-named tour packages of the home keep his spirit alive—opt for the "Doublemint," the "Big Red," or the "Juicyfruit."

Honorable Mention: Scottsdale's Taliesin West, the winter home of Frank Lloyd Wright, which now serves as the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture.

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Thomas R Machnitzki via Wikimedia Commons

Arkansas: Johnny Cash's Boyhood Home

The Man in Black came from humble roots; his boyhood home was part of Dyess Colony, a project of the New Deal that was established to provide shelter and income for approximately 500 poor farm families. Thanks to a recent restoration, Cash's boyhood home is furnished just as it would have been in the 1930s, when the family first lived there.

Honorable Mention: A trip to Arkansas wouldn't be complete without a visit to a home designed by renowned local architect E. Fay Jones. Heber Springs' Stoneflower would be a great place to start.

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King of Hearts via Wikimedia Commons

California: San Francisco's Painted Ladies

Did the Full House theme song just pop into your head? Undoubtedly the most photographed streetscape in California—if not the country—is San Francisco's famous Postcard Row, constructed by a single developer between 1892 and 1896. There's no peeking inside, unfortunately—the "seven sisters" are privately owned. But that doesn't stop you from enjoying a vibrant pastel tableau from your picnic spot in Alamo Square, located across the street.

Honorable Mention: The bizarrely captivating Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, an eccentric Victorian mansion rife with architectural oddities.

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dbking via Flickr

Colorado: The Molly Brown House

Plenty of mediocre homes become museums on account of their famous residents. Titanic legend Margaret "Molly" Brown's house is an exception; not only was the residence home to one of history's most illustrious women, it also happens to be an incredible piece of eclectic, Victorian-era architecture. But, like all good historic homes, the structure nearly didn't make it. When Historic Denver was incorporated in 1970, the group made a successful plea to save the home from the threat of urban renewal that sacrificed so many of the city's historic treasures.

Honorable Mention: The space-age, elliptical Sleeper House in Golden, so called for its appearance in the 1973 Woody Allen movie of the same name.

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cliff1066 via Flickr

Connecticut: Mark Twain House

Samuel Clemens was known to be enamored with the 11‚500 sq. ft Hartford home he shared with his wife Olivia in the years between 1874 and 1891, during which he published The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and numerous other works. "It is a home—and the word never had so much meaning before," the author famously said. Having been saved from the wrecking ball by a family friend nearly a century ago, the Gothic Revival style house looks as elegant today as it did in Twain's time.

The state of Delaware is practically synonymous with the DuPont family, whose legacy lives on in a handful of spectacular mansions clustered around the Wilmington area (known affectionately as "Chateau Country"). Alfred DuPont must have adored his second wife, Alicia, as he commissioned the prestigious New York firm of Carrère & Hastings (architects of the New York Public Library) to build her a 102-room, country estate with landscape designs based on the gardens of Versailles. Visit Nemours to stroll portions of the property's 300 magnificent acres.

Approximately 40 to 50 polydactyl (six-toed) cats now inhabit the Key West home in which Ernest Hemingway lived with his wife from 1931 to 1940. Interesting though the animals may be, the circa 1851 Spanish Colonial style house itself is the real showstopper here. But it wasn't always this way—originally dating to 1851, the home had fallen into total disrepair by the time the Hemingways purchased it eighty years later. The couple was responsible for the restoration that ultimately made this one of America's most beloved homes.

Honorable Mention: Ca' d'Zan, circus mogul John Ringling's flashy Sarasota estate, which just might be the greatest show on Earth.

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Rex Brown via Flickr

Georgia: The Mercer-Williams House

Originally designed for the great-grandfather of songwriter Johnny Mercer around the time of the Civil War, the historic home was purchased and later restored by preservationist and antiques dealer Jim Williams in 1969. It became one of Savannah, Georgia's "must see" tourist attractions after the 1994 publication of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, which loosely chronicled the real-life trial of Williams after he was accused of murdering Danny Hansford in the home's study (Williams was ultimately acquitted).

Honorable Mention: The Twelve Oaks Bed & Breakfast in Covington, which is believed to have served as the inspiration for Margaret Mitchell's fictional Twelve Oaks in the movie Gone With the Wind.

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Hawaii: Shangri La

After traveling though the Islamic world on their honeymoon in 1935, Doris Duke and her new husband made a final stop in Hawaii, where they fell in love with the local culture. The following year, the heiress purchased a 4.9-acre plot of land on the Honolulu waterfront and commissioned the construction of a home that would showcase her newfound interest in Islamic Art and architecture. Shangri La operates today as a museum showcasing the expansive collection of Middle Eastern artwork that Duke collected over the course of her lifetime.

Honorable Mention: Liljestrand House, considered by many to be Hawaii's finest example of mid-century modern architecture.

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Idaho: The Standrod Mansion

Pocatello's Standrod Mansion is one of the few homes in Idaho built in the Chateauesque style (think North Carolina's Biltmore Estate), which takes cues from ornamental French chateaus. Also unlike others in the vicinity, this one was built primarily using local sandstone. Locals say that ghosts of the original occupants still roam the premises of the opulent mini-castle. Which begs the question: Can you blame them?

One cannot think of architecture in Illinois without thinking of Frank Lloyd Wright. The state was his playground, and Oak Park contains the most extensive collection of Wright homes anywhere in the country. The Prairie Style—inspired by the low, flat lines of the prairie landscape—was invented right here in Frank Lloyd Wright's studio, which operated out the home he built for himself in 1889 at the age of 22.

Honorable Mention: You've always wanted to live in the Home Alone house, haven't you? The stately McCallister home, which sits in the Chicago suburbs, sold for $1.5 million in 2012.

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Nyttend via Wikimedia Commons

Indiana: Grouseland

Constructed in 1804, Grouseland was the residence of William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States, during his time as Governor of the Indiana Territory. It's fitting that the home would be in Vincennes, which at the time was the territory's capital. The design of what would become Indiana's first brick building was based on Berkeley Plantation, the Harrison family's Virginia home.

Honorable Mention: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore's Century of Progress Homes, a fascinating collection of model homes constructed in a range of "modern" architectural styles for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.

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Joanna Poe via Flickr

Iowa: The American Gothic House

Any road trip through Eldon, Iowa must include a stop (and a photo op) in front of the home depicted in Grant Wood's notorious painting American Gothic. Forgot your pitchfork? No worries—the adjacent American Gothic House Center has props on-hand.

The famous female aviator spent more time living in this wood-frame, Gothic Revival cottage in Atchison than anywhere else during the course of her lifetime—and she was certainly someone who knew how to get around.

"I am in one respect better off than Moses. He died in sight of, without reaching, the Promised Land. I occupy as good a farm as any that he would have found, if he had reached it." So said statesman Henry Clay of the Lexington estate on which he lived for over 40 years. You, too, can visit the promised land by embarking on a guided tour of the house or by visiting the grounds, which are open free-of-charge, year-round.

Vacherie's Oak Alley Plantation is perhaps best known for the quarter-mile alley of 300-year old, live oak trees that beckon guests to this "Grand Dame of River Road." If the Greek Revival plantation house looks familiar, you might remember it as one of the settings in Interview with the Vampire, among a handful of other Hollywood films.

Andrew Wyeth's 1948 painting Christina's World is not the only one of his artworks to feature Olsen House, but it is certainly the most famous. Wyeth used the Cushing farmstead and its owners as his muse for nearly 300 paintings and sketches composed in the years between 1940 and 1968. The home is now owned and operated by the Farnsworth Art Museum and is open to the public.

Honorable Mention: See how high society lived during the pre-Civil War years at Victoria Mansion, an Italian villa style masterpiece in Portland.

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KudzuVine via Wikimedia Commons

Maryland: The Star-Spangled Flag House

It might appear unassuming from the outside, but this little Baltimore house played a big role in American history as the home and workplace of Mary Pickersgill, who sewed the flag that Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McHenry, inspiring him to write our country's national anthem.

Honorable Mention: Sotterly, a beautiful example of a historic tidewater plantation and the only one in the state that is open to the public.

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Boston Globe

It happens to be one of the country's oldest surviving homes (it dates to 1668!), but Salem's House of the Seven Gables truly earned its place in history when Nathaniel Hawthorne penned his famous novel inspired by the historic setting. As for the gables? Count 'em—there are indeed seven!

Honorable Mention: The Mount, Edith Wharton's 1902 country home, is a living example of the principles espoused in her 1897 book The Decoration of Houses.

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Raymond Boyd

Michigan: The Henry Ford Estate

The enormous popularity of the Model T after its introduction in 1908 not only set Henry Ford on a path to becoming one of the America's richest men—it also made him of its most recognizable figures. Ford and his wife Clara, who were living in a farmhouse at the time, sought a country escape far away from the public eye but close to their rural roots. Set on 1,300 acres, this Dearborn house would become the Fords' home from 1915 until 1950.

Honorable Mention: Alden B. Dow Home & Studio, the spectacular residence of the 20th century architect known for his influence in developing the Michigan Modern style.

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University of Minnesota Duluth via Flickr

Minnesota: Glensheen

Clara Congdon is known to have joked about her "quiet neighbors"—the majestic 39-room mansion she called home not only overlooked Lake Superior, it was also built next to a cemetery. The Duluth house would have been most famous for its 27,000 sq. ft. of turn-of-the-century decadence, if not for the double murder of heiress Elisabeth Manning Congdon and her night nurse that took place inside the house in 1977. Two years later, Glensheen was donated to the University of Minnesota and opened as a historic house museum.

Honorable Mention: Measuring 36,500 sq. ft., the 1891 James J. Hill House in St. Paul was at the time of its completion the largest and most expensive home ever to be built in Minnesota.

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UniversalImagesGroup

Mississippi: Longwood Plantation

Tourists in Natchez, Mississippi flock to Longwood Plantation, America's largest octagonal house and arguably its most flamboyant. Historians derisively refer to the home as "Nutt's Folly" because the opulent estate was the dream of Haller Nutt, a cotton baron who lost his fortune in the war, then died of pneumonia before the home could be completed (the rest of the family lived in the finished basement in the post-war years).

Honorable Mention: A stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail, the Elvis Presley Birthplace is a two-room, shotgun home built by the King's father in 1934 for a modest $180.

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In 1882, the Kansas City Times called the Vaile Mansion "the most princely house and the most comfortable home in the entire west." Little has changed since then; standing proudly on a spacious open lot, Colonel Harvey Vaile's masterpiece remains the crown jewel of Independence, and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Second Empire architecture in the country.

Honorable Mention: The Harry S. Truman House, home to the 33rd president from the time of his marriage to the time of his death.

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Courtesy of the Moss Mansion

Montana: Moss Mansion

The architect of the original Waldorf=Astoria and the Plaza Hotel built this rusticated stone showpiece in 1903 for wealthy business tycoon Preston Boyd Moss. No stranger to the silver screen, the Billings mansion has been featured in a handful of period films, including Son of the Morning Star and Return to Lonesome Dove.

Col. Wm. F. Cody (a.k.a. Buffalo Bill) debuted his famous Wild West Show in North Platte on July 4th, 1882—and four years later, used his earnings to construct this sweet Victorian home on a portion of the 4,000 acres he owned there. Now part of a 16-acre historical park, the home is available for tours by appointment.

Honorable Mention: The Harvey P. Sutton House, a private residence in the city of McCook, was Frank Lloyd Wright's only Nebraska commission.

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Tim Hilton via Flickr

It is rumored that Johnny Depp saw the apparition of a little girl dressed in white while staying at the Mackay Mansion during the filming of 1995's Dead Man. He's not alone; years of reported paranormal activity make the circa 1860, Italianate-style home one of Virginia City's most haunted places. Care to see for yourself? The home is open for tours daily.

Say it five times fast! The tongue-twisting name of the New Jersey governor's official residence derives from the Scots-Gaelic term for "wooded hill." Located in Princeton, the Greek Revival mansion was built for governor Charles S. Olden in 1834. It's a showy place, indeed, but despite all the bells and whistles, no governor has actually lived in the home since 2004.

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